


Fireteam: Lost Cause

by BaronetCoins



Series: Fireteam Lost Cause and other associated stories [2]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, I mean it's nothing crazy graphic but it's a fighting video game folks, No Romance, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-17
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2020-01-15 10:02:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18496680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BaronetCoins/pseuds/BaronetCoins
Summary: Hunters are well known for collecting stories. Put an entire fireteam of 'em together, and life gets wacky. These are the adventures of Fireteam Lost Cause.





	1. Ain't No Grave

**Author's Note:**

> My first ever time posting something to Ao3- I just love these two so much I had to show the entire world. 
> 
> Tiern belongs to my dear friend and Fireteam member, Nano.

#### A bar, the Last City

**Is that what you kiddos call a story these days? Let me tell you a real Hunter story. A good one, for once. And it won’t be short either.**

**This tale begins in the northwest corner of old America, in the late evening...**

* * *

A low, creeping fog covered the crumbling houses, disintegrating roads and overgrown fields on the outer edge of the ruined city. Brief flashes illuminated it, as if a will-o'-the-wisp was playing in the tangled metal that filled the road.

With a low roar, a single flare managed to puncture the fog. It was followed by a panicked scream. A blue skinned woman sat with a start from where she had been sitting in a broken car. 

Shining bright lights in her face was a tiny robot. It chirped at her happily.

“Eyes up Guardian!” It (he?) announced. “You’ve been brought back to life by the Traveler’s light to protect the Earth. I’m your ghost!”

She stared, unnerved by the cheerful, matter of fact delivery.

“You’ve been dead for quite some time- I imagine this will all be very strange for you.” It (he?) peered at her quizzically. “I’ll do my best to answer any questions you have! We should start making our way back to the City.”

“The city?” The woman asked, straining her vocal chords against the decades of disuse. She rubbed them absentmindedly.

“The Last City! It’s where the last humans live. It’s pretty far though- we’ll have to find a ship.” He (she had decided on he) managed to approximate a smile, despite not having any features. “Luckily, I know just the place to find one.”

She slowly staggered to her feet, dusting off the years of grime as best as she could. “Take me to it.”

* * *

“Well.” The woman stood with arms crossed, clearly unimpressed. “I expected something a little less broken.”

The ghost flinched back as one of the wings slowly teetered and fell off with an agonizing shriek. “Me too.”

For the first time, the woman laughed. It was a wheezing, breathy sound. She doubled over, hands on her knees. “Can we fix it?” She managed to gasp out.

The ghost brightened. “We certainly can!” He poofed away, and reappeared a few feet towards the tattered ship. “Let’s go!”

She jogged towards him, still trying to recover from the fit of laughter. Eventually, they reached the foot of the ship. The Ghost buzzed around, scanning the thing.

“We should be able to find everything we need around here.” He announced finally, looking around and the abandoned airfield. “We should also find you some armor and a weapon.”

“A weapon?” The woman asked. “What do you mean?”

“Not everything out in the wilderness is as charming as I am.” The ghost cracked what could be considered his sort of a smile. “Wouldn’t want you to get hurt. There’s got to be something around here.”

The woman nodded seriously at him. “Where to first?”

He nudged her over towards the first little shed. Half the roof had caved in, but the door still creaked open with a gentle nudge. She breathed a sigh of relief the roof stayed on the building.

The weak rays of sunlight illuminated a few mostly intact machines. The Ghost moved from hovering over her shoulder to buzzing around the room, pointing out what she needed to get. She threw herself into the work, dragging out large machines and piles of materials. It settled into a rhythm. Into the shed, out of the shed. Search for the next item. Repeat.

Deep in the corner, under a pile of hoses and tubing, the woman found a single gun. The Ghost buzzed over her shoulder.

“Ooo!” He exclaimed. “This is perfect.”

She stopped, with her hand hovering over it. “I don’t think I know how to use a gun.”

“Just pick it up. You’ll see.” The ghost announced, before zipping down to inspect it. “This is an old pulse rifle.”

She shrugged, and picked it up, sliding it into her belt. Suddenly, she felt a jolt. The Ghost jammed itself into her shoulder.

“I’m picking something up!” He hissed at her. “Be ready to shoot.”

The woman went absolutely silent. She crept up to the door, and raised the sight of her new weapon to her eyes. A soft breeze blew through the crack in the roof.

A tense few seconds passed. Then another few. The Woman held remarkably still, her breathing the only signs of life. It paid off as she caught a glint of movement in her sights. Her fingers tensed around the trigger.

The Ghost outright squealed, and nudged her hand down. “It’s another guardian! This is so exciting! Most of the time we wouldn’t see another one until we got to the tower.”The woman lowered her gun slightly. “Do we trust them?” The Ghost nodded emphatically.

“We should invite them to ride with us! I’ll ping their ghost’s chanel.” The Ghost hummed to himself.

From far off in the distance, the other guardian waved. The woman waited for him to slowly approach. As the figure got closer, she was able to realize how strange a figure they really were. They seemed to be made of metal, and it didn’t just look like a helmet.

The woman would not be the first to speak. She waited for them, despite the Ghost’s constant presence nudging her side.

”Hello.” The metal man extended a hand, not for a handshake but aiming for a high five. “I’m Tiern. Your buddy said you could give us a ride.”

Just as she reached up to grant him the high five, she was struck by the realization that she didn’t know her name. It froze her hand in mid air, and sent her mind spinning. _How did she not know her own name? How had she managed this far without one? Why hadn’t she noticed?_ The thoughts built and built, threatening to crash down.

Tiern noticed and lowered his hand, taking a step away. The woman reverted back to statuesque stillness.

”I don’t know my name.” She whispered quietly, more at the wind than anyone present. “But we can give you a ride to the Last City.”

”Well, we can work on the name on the ride there.” He offered his hand back up. “Now let’s see about that ship.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from "Ain't No Grave" by Johnny Cash.
> 
> A short little chapter to kick things off because I finally got my invite and I couldn't wait to post something. I plan to update once a week if my life doesn't get too crazy. If you catch a typo or mistake, roast me in the comments and feel free to just tell me what you think. 
> 
> -Toodles!


	2. Country Roads

**Of course, this wouldn’t be a story if it were that easy now would it? It took us a few days to put it back together in some sort of flyable shape. While we worked, we set up a camp in one of the buildings, away from the eyes of anything that might try to attack…**

* * *

The woman’s eyes scanned the horizon as she chewed absentmindedly on some sort of protein bar. Tiern was sitting slumped against a wall, shut down in some version of sleep. The air was filled only with the chirping of frogs in the distance.

A twig snapped loudly. She reflexively kicked out at Tiern, startling him into waking. He swung wildly at her, cursing.

”Hey.” She hissed. “I heard something big moving.”

Something in those words lit up a circuit and Tiern groped about for his hand cannon. She snapped her sight to her eyes, scanning the horizon. A small hint of blue flashed through the trees.

Beside her Tiern stiffened. She threw a blanket over the small lantern sitting beside them. A low rumbling filled the air, shaking both of them to their bones.

”Damnit.” She muttered. “That sounded like a lot of something.”

”Fallen.” The ghost supplied grimmly. “And yes, it was a lot.”

A streak of blue-white lightning crackled across the night sky nearly missing Tiern’s forehead. The woman fired off a quick shot back, and the air erupted with fire.

She took a shot to the side, and screamed. Her vision blurred. In her peripheral vision, Tiern kept firing, trying to fight off another wave but the fallen swarmed him. He cried out desperatley.

The woman burned. She felt her hands erupt with a comforting warmth and swung out into the crowd. It seared through the enemies, a hot knife in cold butter. For an instant, she could breathe.

It couldn’t last. The crowd swarmed her once again, and then she felt nothing.

* * *

She stood up awkwardly, reaching out for offered hand from Tiern. His hand was surprisingly well articulated for that of a robot. He smirked.

”The score is me one, you zero.” 

The woman glared at him, and brushed herself off. “You want a ride or not?”

She moved over to the ship to inspect it, ignoring his slight pestering. It seemed unharmed at the very least. Her ghost buzzed around, checking up on their work.

”The good news? We won’t have to start over.” He announced. “The bad news is that it’ll be another day before we can fly.”

Tiern groaned loudly, and she snickered despite herself.

”Well, no time to waste.”

* * *

”Are we done yet?” Tiern whined from his seat atop the ship. The woman frowned at him, and lightheartedly flung the wrench she was holding at him. He ducked without looking up.

”Yes.” She announced, and stepped back. “What do you say we take it for a spin?”

Tiern sat up, and slid down to stand beside her. The ship was small and wide winged, patched up to the point where it resembled a ship-shaped quilt more so than a flying vessel. The engine had been stripped from elsewhere, and it showed.

”Are you sure about this? Tiern asked, a clear note of doubt in his voice.

”Doesn’t have to look pretty. It just has to fly.” She climbed up into the cockpit. “And this will fly.”

Tiern swung himself up into the small passenger section and settled down in the back. The ship roared to life without a choke or sputter. He could feel it shaking all the way through his body. With a lurch, it rose into the air and flung him out of his seat to the floor.

”Sorry!” She shouted over the growling. “I realize we forgot seatbelts.”

”You think?” He shouted back. He could hear her snickering over the muted sounds of her ghost giving her directions.

”Keep the big mountain behind you. Great, now just keep going west until you hit the ocean. Then keep going west.”

* * *

”Tiern!” The woman yelled. “Look out the window!”

”This better not be just another forest. It’s not too late for me to stage a mutiny.” He called out, mostly joking. Regardless, he stood up, hunching to avoid hitting his head, and peered out the front window.

The view stole his (metaphorical) breath before he could make another quip. The woman’s reflection in the window was smirking. His ghost flitted up, pressing her eye to the window.

Filling up the entire view was a giant glowing orb in the sky. It looked like the moon had landed a few hundred feet above the surface of the earth. Underneath it was a large circular wall, surrounding a bustling city.

”The last city!” Her ghost buzzed excitedly. “We need to take you two to the tower.”

.

”We’re pulling in.” The woman announced. “Hold on to something this time.”

Tiern playfully swatted at her shoulder, but moved to sit down and grip tightly to the walls. The ship swung down into a small landing bay in the side of a tall structure. Both of them slid out, happy to abandon the cramped space that they had occupied for 17 hours.

To their surprise, the hangar was crowded with people. Some who looked like Tiern, others who looked like the woman. Ordinary humans and those too swaddled in armour to distinguish. The woman just stared. Tiern moved a hand to his side.

Silently, as if with a hive mind the crowd parted to allow a short robotic man to the front of the group. He had a blue face, and was wearing a long cloak. He cracked a smile, and waved.

”Welcome y’all!. The name’s Cayde. I’d like to extend an official vanguard welcome to the tower.” He held out a hand.

”Tiern.” He said, shaking it. “And this is…”

”I don’t know.” She said quietly.

”Don’t worry. Perfectly normal symptom of getting resurrected. We’ll get you one soon enough.” The man sounded perfectly nonchalant, like meeting two strangers with memory loss was a normal Tuesday. “Care to follow me? I think we have a lot to talk about.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver
> 
> I cranked this out over two days of being tired and grumpy, so I may come back to this and re-write it later. For now, have a Monday morning update! Cayde is my favorite in case you couldn't tell. If you see a typo, roast me in the comments. 
> 
> Hope y'all are doing well!


	3. Fame is in the front seat, trouble with the curve

The two glanced at each other and dashed off, jogging to keep up with the robot’s long strides. He struck an odd balance between working the rope line and walking like he was late. It seemed like everybody knew him.

As soon as they had left the hangar, Cayde pulled them into a little alcove and turned to face them.

”I’ll take you to meet my fireteam later, but I’ve got to say that you two need to be hunters.” He looked at them both. “Your ghosts told me about you two, and I think y’all have some potential. Plus, I’m the most fun.”

”You want us to be what now?” The woman looked at him. He sighed.

”Look…” He paused, then frowned. “We need to get you a name because I can’t just call you ‘Girl’. Think you need an ‘A’ name.”

”Works for me.” She shrugged. Cayde muttered to himself under his breath. Finally, he exhaled.

”Ayin. Your name is Ayin now.” He pointed at her. “Now back to my story. This is the tower, it’s where all the Guardians aka people with ghosts live. There are three types of ‘em: Hunters, the cool ones; Titans, the strong ones; and Warlocks, the nerds. Getting the picture?”

Ayin nodded. “So what do you do?”

”Gettin to that.” Cayde said. “I’m one of the Vanguard- each type has one. Join me, and I’ll take y’all out for ramen.”

”Ramen?” Tiern asked. “Where do we sign up!”

Cayde smiled brightly. “Knew you two were perfect.”

* * *

**We can skip ahead a bit I think. Next is the boring stuff like paperwork and setting up and housekeeping. Lived a pretty boring life until right before the Red War.**

* * *

Ayin yawned and rolled over in her bed, stretching out. Jason, her ghost threw himself against her shoulder. She swatted at him.

”Ayin.” He buzzed. “We have plans!”

She groaned, but rolled over. Jason settled against her shoulder as she sat up and looked around the room, brushing her hair out of her eyes. The morning sunlight filtered through the tiny window, illuminating a miniature forest of houseplants filling every inch of the tiny room. A loud slamming shattered the quiet of the still morning.

”Tiern!” She shouted. “I hope you’re awake!”

A groan, barley muffled by the walls rang out. She stood up and let Jason transmat her armor onto her. He floated around, making sure everything was ready. Ayin adjusted her cloak, and walked out to the small common room. Tiern staggered out of his room, rubbing his head.

”How can you be not a morning person when you don’t really sleep?” Ayin asked, chucking a protein bar at him. He scowled, but took it and tore into it. She laughed.

”Let’s just get going on this patrol.” He muttered. “Sooner it’s over with, the better.

”That’s the spirit.” Ayin laughed. Tiern dragged himself out of his chair, and walked out the front door. She jogged after him, turning it into a full sprint as he dashed through the hallway. As they passed into the Tower Watch, Ayin managed to pull ahead.

Rounding the last corner, Tiern vaulted over her and swung into the hangar, calling down his ship. She sighed, and let Jason transmat her into the back of his ship. Tiern laughed over the coms.

”Make sure you buckle your seatbelt.” He cackled. Ayin stared daggers through his seat, but crossed her arms and leaned back, picking through her equipment. The ship lurched, but she stubbornly held to her seat as they zoomed across the surface of the Earth and headed out towards Venus.

* * *

”Tiern? I haven’t heard anything from people around the tower in a while.” Ayin muttered quietly. “I think we should head back.”

”About done out here anyway.” He shrugged, and called down his ship. Ayin managed to hop in first and started to fly towards Earth. Tiern sat in the back, tapping his foot against the ground and inspecting his weapons. Jason and Tiern’s ghost Saffron started to chatter amongst themselves and with the tower, trying to get a response. With every silent minute, Ayin pushed the ship a little bit further.

They came hurtling down into tower airspace, Tiern peering over Ayin’s shoulder and the two ghosts hovering low above the dashboard. At first, a bank of clouds blocked all sight of the Last City. They finally broke through, and Ayin screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of a shorter chapter as I've been in a funk. Now that we've gotten the intro out of the way, we can get into some ACTION! Next chapter or two will have angst as we sort through the beginnings of the Red War. It won't just be a straight up rewrite of the campaign I can tell you that.
> 
> As far as our two main characters- Ayin and Tiern-7, an awoken and an exo respectively. Both are Hunters. Ayin's ghost is named Jason, and Tiern's ghost is named Saffron. Both are idiots and I love them very much. 
> 
> Chapter title is from "The Hunter" by Adam Jensen
> 
> Happy Monday! 
> 
> -Baro


	4. A Falling Out

”Punch it!” Jason shouted at her. Ayin nodded and the shipped flung itself towards the city. The sky was filled thickly with smoke punctuated by the rapid flashing of live fire. Soaring through the atmosphere was what looked like an entire fleet of ships.

”Cabal.” Saffron confirmed, pressed right up against the window. “The Tower is under attack, and they’ve done something to the Traveler.”

A weak round of static crackled over the coms. “Fireteam Lost Cause. Fly to the largest ship and make your way inside. Try to take this guy down. We’ll handle the tower and the evacuations.” Ayin recognized the voice as Cayde, but the tone was something new. There was no humor or levity to it. For once in his life, he was dead serious

”Copy.” Tiern answered for her, and Ayin wrenched the ship into an upward trajectory. He braced himself against the seat as she expertly dodged around the projectiles and ships that choked the cloudy skies. 

The high altitude winds almost blew through their cloaks and armor, cutting like a knife past insulation and skin alike. From the moment they landed, actions became a blur, relying more on instinct than on any conscious thought. There simply wasn’t enough time to think when faced with the waves of Cabal determined to stop them from reaching the core.

Tiern ducked as Ayin fired off a shot over his shoulder at the last psion. The two of them charged through the corridor, not stopping to look back. Jason muttered directions over the headset, but the only other sound was the muffled battle raging outside.

A few careful shots disabled the core, and together they stumbled back out onto the landing platform, exhausted and leaning on each other for support. Ayin sat down, ready to find the Vanguard and report on a successful mission.

”Pathetic.” Someone boomed from behind her with a voice to rival Shaxx. “For too long humanity has become complacent.”

Ayin turned her head to see someone who looked like a naked mole rat wrapped in bright white armor. She moved to stagger to her feet and drew her hand cannon, pointing it at his ugly face. Tiern did the same.

”It’s too late for you.” The mole rat thundered. “I am Ghaul. Welcome to a world without light.” Ghaul made a sweeping gesture, and the machine wrapped around the traveler glowed orange.

Ayin started to laugh at the ridiculous threat and felt the laugh get ripped out of her throat. All of the wind in her body left her. Her lungs burned and then she felt cold through to her bones. Beside her, Tiern fell to his knees as Jason and Saffron dropped out of the air. She staggered forward, retching.

She looked up to see Ghaul staring down at them. He made a face of utter disgust, and punted her in the stomach sending her bowling into Tiern and towards the edge of the open platform.

”You are weak. Afraid. Cowering behind walls!” He shouted at them, walking closer. “You do not deserve the power you have been given!”

Ayin reached out, clawing at Jason. Ghaul looked at her one last time, and pushed the two of them off the edge. 

She hurtled towards the ground, falling like a stone through the atmosphere. By instinct more than anything else, she managed to right herself. As she neared the ground, she prepared to summon the energy needed to jump and control her own momentum.

Instead of the expected easy landing, she crashed down into the feeling of ribs shattering.

She woke up two days later to freezing rain. She pushed off one hand, and rolled over onto her stomach. Ayin ripped off her helmet and retched into the ground.

”Jason?” She whispered. “Where are you?”

The rain drizzled through her hair, sticking it to her skull. The city continued to burn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Agh this is way later than I would have liked but that's what happens when life exists to screw with all of your plans. There will be another update very soon though so there's that to look forward to. This'll diverge from the actual story campaign of D2 soon I promise but I felt like writing some angst and this was a nice opportunity for some sadness.
> 
> Anyway, yell at me in the commons if there's a typo, or you just want to talk.   
> Toodles!  
> Baro


End file.
